Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Crazy Week

WHEW!! This is going to be a crazy week. Tons and tons to do. But I'd rather be busy, anyway.

I've decided to de-junk my house. We're talking GET RID of anything I haven't used in the last six months or so.

What's scary about this is--we have a LOT of stuff. I guess it's time for a garage sale. I have never personally had a garage sale, but I supppose it's time. We have WAYYYYY too much stuff. It's disgusting. I used to have very "country" decor, and now my house looks like something out of Pottery Barn meets World Market. No more cutesy country. So I have all these country pictures, wall decorations, knick-knacks, etc. gathering dust in my basement.

...And what is the deal with me typing and the words don't show up until I've typed five words ahead? It must be a blogger thing.

I'm thinking Goodwill might be the best choice. Sure, I'd like to make money off it, but I fear garage sales. Too much work. So off to Goodwill I go.

I might not be blogging a whole lot this week, but as soon as things calm down I'll resume and I'll even try to be funny.

Question of the day: What age should the Tooth Fairy's true identity be revealed?

(If you are the sort of parent who does the whole Tooth Fairy Thing.) I know when my mother told me about the Tooth Fairy, it was EXTREMELY traumatic because clearly Santa and the Easter Bunny's status were a logical deduction as well. I still cringe when I think of that bleak moment...

5 comments:

I am the same as you about the garage sale thing. We have tried numerous times to have them and made NO MONEY. We had one this spring and made over $200! We bought cookies/chips/pop at Costco and sell that as well. Seemed to make a difference.

As far as the Tooth Fairy thing, I let them believe as long as they want to. I think our oldesat suspected when he was 6 or so, but if he asked we just acted dumb.

Finally when the second son was 7 or 8, he MADE us tell. He kept on saying, "Come ON!! I KNOW they aren't real." I was devestated. We told them both at the same time (the oldest said he knew, but wanted to keep acting like he didn't) and they have been AWESOME about not saying a peep to their younger siblings. It is also SO helpful to have their help ay Christmas time and have less things to sneak about, you know??

My mother told me when I was just five. I never had any memory of actually believing and I swore I would let my kids have time to believe. I really feel cheated out of a wonderful experience and get bitter about it if I let myself think about it too long! LOL Her reasoning was that she didn't want some kid at school telling me!??!? If that happens, do like we did and just deny it!??! HELLO!?!? Just say "Oh, poor so and so. I wonder why they think that??" MAN! If you must tell, do one at a time and see if they ask about the others. Like you, I messed up with the tooth money. Luckily my kids lose their teeth late and they take forever so it was after the time they knew we were the ones putting the money there:) Sorry so long, I should have e-mailed you!

Ugh - dejunking is a nightmare.We had a garage sale once - we were practically paying people to take stuff at the end. There must be some trick to it since so many people do it, but I haven't discovered it yet!

The way I explain it to the godkids when they come crying to me that these entities aren't "real" is that the people who say they aren't real don't get it and are missing a lot. IE, Santa Claus personifies the spirit of giving -- it's easier to relate to such a spirit when one thinks of it in terms of a personality. The Tooth Fairy helps make the transition from baby teeth to adult teeth, so bones falling out of your head aren't so scary and icky. The Easter Bunny brings (literally) the possibilities of spring and the new growing cycle (eggs).

Yes, your parents are doing the physical placing of gifts, coins, baskets -- but the spirit is very real, and in some form, has been honored for centuries.

I tell them people who refuse to honor these spirits are missing out on some of the joys in life, and that the godkids should feel sorry for them. If someone teases you for believing in them, just shake your head and tell them how sorry for them you feel. They're missing a big chunk of joy.

They've all been different ages when we've had this conversaton, but it's worth it.

Heck, we still keep up all those rituals -- the adults in the hosue still do the stockings for each other on Christmas Day. We open the presents Christmas Eve, in European tradition, and then there are the stockings and the "St. Nicholas" gifts on Christmas Day.

As the mother of 3, I can't remember when my ( 22 and 15 yr old found out there was no tooth fairy. Probably at age 9, 10). Just like with Santa, let the kids believe as long as they can. Sometimes I still feel like Santa when I do a good deed for someone. Last Xmas, I left a box of chocolate covered pretzels for one neighbor at their back door, and a box of cookies for the other. I signed the cardTo the ________'s__ Love Santa. It made me feel good.